Historical Sites

Bunnell House

In the late 1840s, the well-known Dakota Chief, Wapasha, granted permission to fur-trader, Willard Bunnell, to build a cabin on Dakota land at what is now Homer, Minnesota. Within a few years Bunnell built another, much finer, home nearby to house his wife, Matilda, and family — the present-day Bunnell House.

The Watkins Museum & Store offers visitors a view into the Company’s 146 year history with displays of old products, advertising, photographs and other memorabilia. The museum offers free admission and is connected to the Watkins Store that sell over 350 different Watkins products including Watkins Vanilla and Watkins Liniment.

The cornerstone of the present red brick and stone structure was laid on October 28th, 1894. Just over a year later – Thanksgiving Day of 1895 – the beautiful and imposing church was dedicated. The church was designed in Romanesque-style in the form of a Greek cross.

Reaching nearly 85 feet into the sky, Sugar Loaf is a storied symbol of Winona and known by all as its most distinguishing landmark. The result of quarrying in the late 1800s, the bluff is synonymous with an old Native American legend that paints the rock as the cap of Dakota Chief Wapahsha.

The Winona Downtown Commercial Historic District contains over one hundred sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This area represents Minnesota’s largest collection of Victorian commercial architecture on the Mississippi. Most of the buildings are Italianate or Queen Anne in style and date from between the years 1857 and 1916. Walking tour brochures are available.

The first attempt to establish a public cemetery for the city of Winona was made at an early date upon the timbered flat on the School Section beyond Sugar Loaf and on the other side of the Burns Farm.